PORT HARCOURT , Nigeria -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Trash litters its cities . Electricity is sporadic at best . There is no clean water . Medical and educational services are limited . Basic infrastructure is severely lacking .

`` Planet in Peril '' met in a secret location with members of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta .

These are not conditions that should plague one of the richest oil states in the world . Hundreds of billions of dollars has been made from the Niger Delta 's oil reserves and many people have gotten very rich . Conversely , the average Nigerian has suffered as a result of the country 's oil prosperity . The United States Agency for International Development says more than 70 percent of the country lives on less than a dollar a day -- the population is among the 20 poorest in the world .

Oil companies are only part of the equation . The other is the Nigerian government . Transparency International , a global organization intent on stamping out corruption , has consistently rated Nigeria 's government one of the most corrupt in the world .

Nigeria 's federal government and oil companies split oil profits roughly 60-40 . The money is then supposed to make its way down to the local governments to fund various projects . Somehow , little money actually reaches its intended destination . Nigeria 's own corruption agency estimates between $ 300 billion to $ 400 billion has been stolen or wasted over the last 50 years . Lisa Ling travels to secret location to meet notorious Nigerian militant group ''

Gov. Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers state , one of the largest oil producers of Nigeria 's 36 states , acknowledges past problems with corruption , but thinks progress is being made .

`` There 's a lot of improvement , '' Amaechi said . `` The work being done by the corruption agency and the federal government has somehow been able to control the level of corruption in government . ''

Over the last few years , a culture of militancy and violence has arisen in the absence of jobs and services . Kidnappings for ransom , robberies and even murder happen with regularity .

The biggest and most powerful armed group is the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta , or MEND . They say they are at war against the Nigerian military and the oil companies operating there .

MEND , formed in 2005 , said it has more than 30 camps throughout Nigeria . Members are armed with high-tech weaponry they said was obtained from `` foreign sources . '' Hundreds of people have been killed on both sides and countless oil workers have been kidnapped .

Over the years , MEND 's attacks on oil pipelines have halted oil production and , therefore , raised the price of oil around the world . They demand oil profits be distributed to average Nigerians of the Niger Delta and said they will not stop their attacks until their objectives have been fulfilled . See environmental battle lines for `` Planet in Peril '' ''

The battle is over oil -- one of the world 's most valuable resources . But to most Nigerians -- oil is a curse .

It has provoked an environmental disaster of monstrous proportions . Since the 1970s , the United Nations estimates there have been more than 6,000 oil spills in the Niger Delta -- that is equal to more than 10 times the amount spilled from the Exxon Valdez in 1989 . Yet , there is no international outcry and rarely are the spills reported , even to most Nigerians . They are still happening and the consequences are nothing short of devastating .

Communities along the Niger Delta have lived off subsistence fishing and agriculture for decades . Collecting food becomes impossible when a spill happens , like one that occurred in August . The waterways and mangroves are blanketed in thick brown oil sludge that goes on for miles . Toxicity overpowers the air and a sense of lifelessness pervades the landscape . Many say it will take 10-15 years for the area to be free of contamination -- if the cleanup effort commences in a timely manner .

The August spill was a result of a leak from an old pipeline that had corroded . It took the oil company three months to clamp the leak , but the company said it was n't reported for a full month after it began . Once the leak was reported , the company said it was denied access to the site by the community . Leaders of the village deny that , and the finger-pointing between the two sides is nothing new -- there is no love lost here . Who is telling the truth ? Who knows ? Either way , the creeks are blackened . This is life in the Niger Delta .

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Nigeria is one of world 's richest oil states ; people are among poorest in world

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Nigerian agency : $ 300 billion to $ 400 billion in oil profits squandered , stolen

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Militant group MEND attacks oil pipelines , demands profits given to Nigerian people

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UN : Niger Delta has had more than 6,000 spills ; 10 times more than Exxon Valdez